held up, blundered badly 10th and nearly unseated rider, dropped to rear, went moderate 3rd 3 out, ridden and stayed on flat, never dangerous
soon clear with leader, mistake 3rd, led briefly 10th, led again 12th, clear 3 out, idled and kept up to work flat
led, soon clear with one other, headed briefly 10th, ridden and headed 12th, outpaced by winner approaching 2 out, ridden and kept on flat
in rear, mistake 2nd and soon behind, deliberate 4th and 5th, tailed off when pulled up before 7th
chased leading pair, ridden and went right 8th, weakened 3 out, mistake next
held up, behind from 12th
Despite their indifferent form Cool Roxy and THE DARK LORD love it when they run here and the latter gets the vote, while Toni Alcala is respected. The Dark Lord is marginally preferred on account of the ground being good to soft, and he finished a couple of lengths to the good of his chief rival when winning here in December. Now just 1lb worse off, and with both of them adoring the tight turns here, it will probably be a close thing again. Although both have won on faster ground on balance the selection has more consistent form when there is cut underfoot, so we will side with him. Toni Alcala is out of the handicap but does at least have a feather weight to carry. Neil King has his runners in form and we wouldn't discount the gelding getting competitive in spite of recent efforts. Cossack Dancer has dropped to a handy mark again but would definitely prefer good ground or faster, and Dan Buoy looks in the grip of the assessor for now. The Dark Lord can come home in front.
The Dark Lord (IRE) 20-1 (11-1) fell at the 3rd in race won by Church Island (10-13) at Doncaster 3m hcp chs 0-145 (2) gs, 12 ran.
Cool Roxy 28-1 (10-12) Led to 3rd, ridden and weakened approaching 3 out, 5th of 12, 14l behind Church Island (10-13) at Doncaster 3m hcp chs 0-145 (2) gs.
Cossack Dancer (IRE) 33-1 (11-7) Led, hit 2nd, headed 9th, hit 10th, led after 11th, ridden and headed approaching 3 out, soon weakened, 4th of 7, 46l behind Gwanako (11-7) at Ascot 2m 5f Grad Ch (2) gs in Dec.
Dan Buoy (FR) 14-1 (10-11) Pushed along when blundered 7th, lost place 4 out, 7th of 9, well behind I'm The Decider (10-9) at Bangor 3m hcp hdl 0-130 (3) gs.
Toni Alcala 50-1 (10-9) Raced wide, chased leaders, led 3rd until after 6th, weakened approaching 9th, tailed off, 11th of 16, well behind I'm The Decider (11-3) at Ludlow 3m amt hcp hdl 0-115 (4) sft in Jan.
Major Belle (FR) 14-1 (10-5) In touch, hanging right before 3rd, reminders after 5th, soon lost place, weakened 8th, 7th of 9, 31l behind Major Catch (11-7) at Uttoxeter 2m 6f hcp chs 0-95 (5) sft in Nov.
